The Best Laid Plans
by RoaringMice
Summary: Rodney tries to repair his friendship with John. Things do not go as planned. Mild Slash.
1. Chapter 1

_Notes and warnings:_

_There is gentle slash within. In fact, this is my first slash SGA story, so comments are more than appreciated._

_Written for the ReelSGA challenge. Based on the film, "The Shop Around the Corner", a summary of which follows the story. Likewise a summary of "Mystery Science Theater 3000", which is mentioned. You don't need to have seen either one to get this story._

_Two lines of French used. Translations at end._

_A few of mild swears._

_Spoilers: Based just after the season two episode, Trinity, with Rodney's incident with the Dorandan solar system. You don't need to have seen that ep in order to understand this story._

x-x

"I could use some advice, here," Rodney typed, fingers flying as the information appeared in the message board's form. He'd picked the alias "Rock Hardballs" for this particular series of entries to the Atlantis-wide forums, trying to remain anonymous. Or at least somewhat, because any true fan of "Mystery Science Theatre" would recognise the reference, and half the damn station probably knew that Rodney McKay was a true fan of the show. Still, it was just a stupid, meaningless name. Maybe he'd change it later.

Fingers hovering over the keyboard, Rodney leaned toward the monitor, rereading the long message that he'd written. Finally satisfied, he hit "enter". Logging back in under "McKay", he went to play in the "Star Trek" forum.

Rodney actually kept several aliases for use on these boards. Of course, when the techies had built the forums, they'd made them so that multiple aliases were impossible. But come on, Rodney thought, his mouth twisting into a wry grin, and aloud he said, "Please." People half as smart as he would have no problem breaking through that limitation. And sometimes he just needed to post things anonymously, to try to get some honest feedback.

Like this time. He looked up from the keyboard of his laptop, taking in the muted sunlight as it was filtered through the window of his quarters.

It was Major Sheppard. Colonel Sheppard. Whatever. The fact was, the man was making him nuts.

Rodney shook his head and pushed away from his desk. He stood and went to the window, letting the soft light bathe him as his eyes traced the variations in the milky glass. Sheppard had a very special way of driving him crazy, and he knew that half the time the man did it deliberately, trying to get a rise out of him. But there had always been an underlying playfulness and a respect there. A trust.

Not now, though. Rodney placed his palm against the cool glass as if drawing strength from it. That trust was gone.

He shook his head. His fault. His...he fought to find the right word. Hubris? Arrogance? Sheppard had backed him when he'd wanted to go back down to Doranda, convinced against all evidence that Rodney could get Arcturus working again. Instead, Rodney had managed to destroy most of the Dorandan solar system through his own over-confidence and conceit.

He'd known that everyone else would protest, but he'd refused to listen. He'd just been so damned sure. So he'd used Sheppard - there, he'd said it - he'd USED the trust they'd built in order to get back down to Arcturus.

He'd traded their friendship for...for what? He tapped a finger gently against the glass. For nothing. For...

Forget it. Rodney spun and returned to his desk, peering down at the bright monitor. Sliding into his chair, he returned to his original posting, pleased to see that a few people had responded.

"Oh, poor baby. Had a fight? Buy him flowers," one poster responded. Rodney rolled his eyes. Useless.

The next person wrote, "Come see my band! Friday night, 8pm..." Rodney skipped the rest.

There...what the third person, calling themselves "Fluffy", had written. That seemed valuable. "You say that you lost his trust. I'm sure that's true, but trust is something that you'd had to earn. You may be able to earn it back. But what I wonder is if there isn't something else going on there? Think about it, Rock."

Blinking quickly, confused, Rodney logged in and started typing a reply. "What? What?" he wrote impatiently.

The message appeared on the screen, and almost immediately, Fluffy replied, "Not to be trite, but I think you may have hurt his feelings."

Hurt his feelings? Rodney frowned. Did Sheppard actually HAVE feelings? No, wait, of course he did, but he was military and all that. Hadn't all that been bred out of him or, like, beaten out of him in basic?

True, the man seemed to be avoiding him lately. While they used to have casual conversations in the hallway, or even catch the occasional meal together, now their interactions were strictly work-related. Strictly professional. Cold, if he thought about it.

Damn. Maybe Fluffy was right.

God, he sucked at this. Not that he himself was unfeeling or anything - far from it - but he'd never been all that great at the whole touchy-feely thing. He'd hurt plenty of people's feelings in the past - a gift of his acerbic wit and impatience with idiocy. And a part of him had always felt a bit badly, afterwards. But normally, if he hurt someone, he didn't do much about it. Eventually, things would either blow over or they wouldn't. And if they didn't, so what? But this time he found himself...He rubbed a hand across his eyes. He wasn't sure what, but he wanted to see if he could make this better. He smiled slightly. Maybe he was growing up? His mum would be so proud, he thought, putting a sarcastic twist to the last word.

So he typed, "What do I do?"

x-x Rodney juggled a cup of coffee in one hand and a donut in the other while he tried to keep his files, tucked under the other arm, from sliding away. Moving fast, he glanced down at his watch: he was late for the meeting. Even worse, it was his own meeting, so they'd all be there, waiting for him, and...he looked down as he took a sip of coffee. When he looked back up, he saw Sheppard pass without so much as a by-your-leave.

Rodney turned to watch him go, pensive. Last night, Fluffy had suggested that he try to find a way to break through to Sheppard, starting with a casual conversation.

Meeting be damned, Rodney turned and followed him. "Hey!" he said, catching up to Sheppard in a few quick strides. When Sheppard stopped, Rodney stopped too, his files almost slipping from his grasp.

The Colonelreached over and tucked the files under Rodney's arm. He stood there a moment, apparently waiting for Rodney to say more.

"Um, thanks," Rodney said, awkwardly. He felt the heat rise to his cheeks as Sheppard continued to stare at him, unspeaking, one eyebrow raised in a question. "I was wondering..." Rodney said, not sure of how to continue. "...You free for breakfast?" he said quickly, feeling like a complete ass.

Sheppard frowned, then glanced pointedly at Rodney's coffee and donut. "You already seem to have that covered," Sheppard said with a hint of amusement.

"Right," Rodney said, feeling even more foolish. "Maybe later?"

"Maybe," Sheppard replied with a shrug, walking away.

So much for that plan, Rodney thought.

x-x

"I tried to talk to him, but he refused," Rodney typed, the screen the only point of light in his otherwise dark room. He'd been unable to sleep, his thoughts disturbed by the situation with Sheppard and the meaning, if any, behind their strange encounter in the corridor. "Well, not exactly refused," he amended. "More like 'couldn't be bothered'."

He yawned, pressing a hand to his mouth as he waited for Fluffy's reply. It was late, and he wasn't sure if Fluffy was even online. Still, he wanted to get her feedback before he tried sleeping again.

After a few minutes, a new message appeared in the thread. "What are you still doing up?" Fluffy wrote.

"I could ask you the same thing," Rodney replied, his fingers flying across the keyboard.

"I was watching a movie with some friends," Fluffy wrote.

"Which one?" Rodney asked.

"Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan."

Rodney typed, "KAAAAAHHHNNNN!" When he hit "enter", he saw that Fluffy had typed the same damn thing, and he smiled. A woman after his own heart.

"Back to the point, though," Fluffy wrote. "If it's important to you, keep trying."

x-x

Rodney stood just inside the door of his lab, waiting for Sheppard to jog by. Every day, the Major ran past this very spot at...Rodney glanced at his watch...5:34pm. You could set a clock by him.

With a minute to go, Rodney stepped into the hallway, a folder tucked under his arm. He pulled out one of the papers and, pretending to read through it, slowly started walking down the corridor. He'd almost reached the corner when he heard the pounding of feet from around the bend. Calculating the angle at which the runner would most likely round the corner, he took a step and...BAM, he went flying backwards, losing his breath from the impact with the runner. He hit the wall and, papers flying, he slid down its surface, gasping for breath.

"Jesus Christ, Rodney," Sheppard said from above. Sheppard squatted down in front of him, trying to catch his eye. "You all right?"

"Ow," he said plaintively, one hand on the shoulder where the Major had hit him, the other on the back of his head where it had hit the wall. He looked into Sheppard's eyes, staring at the colour variations. There was green there, and brown, and soft honey tones...

Maybe this whole "bump into Shep" thing hadn't been such a great plan. He'd figured that it'd be guaranteed to get the man to react to his presence, maybe to get a conversation started.

Sheppard frowned at him, and Rodney frowned back. Then he squinted into Sheppard's eyes. "Is that teal?" he asked before he could stop himself. Sheppard said something in response, and Rodney cocked his head to the side, wincing when the movement caused the corridor to swirl around him. "Oh," he said under his breath, blinking rapidly.

He watched as Sheppard used his ever-present radio to call someone - he assumed Carson.

So much for that plan.

x-x

"So, did you watch any films tonight?" Rodney typed, laptop propped up on his legs as he sat back against the pillows. Carson had confined him to bed for the rest of the day, diagnosing him with a mild concussion. He'd also forbidden him from using the computer, saying that it would only worsen his headache. But a couple of minutes online, what could that hurt? And he was, after all, in bed, so technically he was within the letter of the law. Sort of. And Rodney needed some Fluffy advice.

"Yeah," Fluffy responded. "Mystery Science Theater 3000."

"What, the film?"

"No. An episode. I think it was 'Diabolik'. The one when they return to Earth..."

Rodney grinned and typed, "...and end up sitting in Mike's apartment watching bad films and riffing off them?"

"Cool."

"Cool." Rodney nodded, then winced when the movement increased his headache. He decided to come to the point. "So things didn't go so great with my friend today..."

By the end of the conversation, Rodney had come up with another plan.

x-x

Rodney crouched behind the pillar, projectiles spinning past him as Sheppard, kneeling beside him, tried to clear a path to the 'gate. The Major set loose another volley of weapons fire, and Rodney shrank back further, cringing as the noise of the weapons fire worsened his headache. So much for that plan.

Damn, this mission was supposed to be so simple...


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks so much for your reviews and comments! This is the second, and final, chapter in this short piece. _

x-x

In fact, that was the only reason why Carson had cleared him - it was supposed to be your basic "meet the natives, trade, come back" sort of thing, but hey, weren't they all? And he'd been hoping to use the down time they'd normally have on a peaceful mission to talk to Sheppard, and to try to clear the air. But now...a projectile whizzed past him, and he pulled back, the movement exacerbating his new-formed headache.

Squinting against the light, he glanced at the 'gate, so close and yet so far. At least Ronon and Teyla had already made it through. Rodney and Sheppard had been mere steps behind them when Rodney had been tackled by one of the locals. A BIG one of the locals. He'd seen stars when his head had hit the stone floor of the temple, and he'd simply lay there, the world spinning around him as Sheppard had fought off their attackers, then dragged Rodney to safety.

"Hey," Sheppard said, peering into his eyes. "You all right?"

Rodney had a strange sense of déjà vu. Hadn't they been through all this quite recently? Then he noticed that the weapons fire had stopped, and Sheppard had a slight smile on his face. Rodney returned the smile uncertainly. "Comme-ci, comme ça," he answered, lifting a hand, palm up, and wobbling it back and forth slightly. When Sheppard frowned, he said, "Sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Sheppard said, grasping him by the elbow and pulling him to standing.

Rodney stumbled a bit, but the hand at his elbow steadied him. "Sorry for everything," Rodney said. "Sorry for Doranda, and Arcturus, and all that crap." He looked into Sheppard's eyes, blinking to clear his vision. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah," Sheppard said after a brief pause. "Me, too." He frowned, then slipped into his normal, easy smile. "We can talk about all that later. Let's get you to Carson first."

Rodney nodded and stepped towards the 'gate.

x-x

It had taken Rodney a couple of days to recover enough that Carson had let him out of the infirmary, and now he was in his room, resting. Well, supposedly resting. Technically resting, because he was sitting on his bed, and that qualified as rest, right? Even if his computer was open on the duvet, and he was playing on the message boards. At least it wasn't work.

He'd just finished explaining to Fluffy that things seemed to have gotten better between him and Sheppard since the mission. The man himself had even visited him in infirmary not once, but twice.

He laughed at one of Fluffy's responses. That girl was damn funny. He really liked her.

Her...Rodney paused, thinking for a moment. He'd assumed that Fluffy was a she, from the name. He shook his head, dispelling his doubts. After all, no self-respecting guy would call themselves "Fluffy."

Anyway, he really liked her. She was funny, and really on the ball, and totally not put off by Rodney's...Rodney-ness. And it had been great getting a woman's perspective on all of this. They were so good at that whole feelings bit.

Before he could think about it, Rodney typed, "So, you want to meet offline? Go for coffee or something? I know this really great place..." He smiled. "We could talk about MST3K."

There was no response. Oh, Jesus, Rodney thought. Crap on a cracker.

When it finally came, Rodney exhaled a breath he hadn't even realised he'd been holding.

"Okay," Fluffy wrote.

He found himself suddenly nervous. "Yeah? Great!" His hands hovered over the keyboard, fingers twitching nervously. He muttered a soft, "Um." Then he typed, "Tonight, 8pm? Mess hall?"

"See you then."

"See you," he replied. Then he said, aloud, "Good lord."

x-x

Rodney took some time getting ready. Trying on the third shirt, he realised that he was fussing over nothing. He ripped the shirt off, shrugging into his favourite blue sweater instead, the one that people told him set off his eyes, but he was wearing it because it was comfortable, damn it. It wasn't as if this was a date or anything. It was just a casual meeting between friends. He looked at himself in the mirror, pursing his lips. Oh, who was he kidding? Glancing at his watch, he saw that it was already 8:05. He ran a shaky hand through his hair, rolled his eyes, and headed out.

He stopped in the open doorway of the mess hall when he saw Sheppard there, alone at the table by the window, staring out at the sunset. Sheppard twisted slightly and gave Rodney a vague wave, then turned back to the view.

Rodney grabbed a seat by the door so he could catch whoever entered who seemed to be Fluffy-like. He should have asked her for her hair colour or something, so he'd know who to look for, but he guessed he'd been too damn nervous.

As he waited, he watched Sheppard staring out window at sunset, its light haloing him, softening his features as he sat back in the chair. Rodney could see glints of sunlight highlighting his hair, but the man was turned away, so Rodney couldn't see his eyes.

Sheppard looked good in civilian clothes, a dark shirt and pants, casual but not-too. Rodney rarely saw him so well put together, like he'd actually been paying attention to what he was wearing, trying to show off his best features. Usually the man wore those stupid track jackets and jeans. Tonight he was dressed differently, kind of date clothing.

And then it struck Rodney like a wet brick, and he actually had to physically close his eyes against the revelation. He opened them, looked at John again, then away, anywhere else, at his hands, pulling at the cuticles he'd trimmed so carefully.

Contre crisse. John...Major Sheppard was "Fluffy".

Rodney stood and pushed back his chair in a screech. He didn't look back as he left.

x-x

Rodney plunked down on his bed as soon as he got to his room, staring at his computer. The damn thing's screen was glowing in front of him, still displaying the page where he'd last left it; his conversation with Fluffy. John. His conversation with John.

With a shaking hand, he touched the mouse and refreshed the display. Nothing new. So he opened a reply box, heart rising into his throat, unsure of what to say. How in the world could he even start? He closed the box.

He'd never thought...the person had been so damn nice, so helpful. So open. So unlike Sheppard. And he'd thought that...but with JOHN? Not that there was anything WRONG with that. He ran trembling hands through his hair and let his head hang down.

And not that he'd never thought of the possibility, with a guy, but...he'd just never...well, there had been that one time, but that was in COLLEGE, and he'd been drinking. Speaking of which...Rodney reached to shelves above his bed and took down the bottle of vodka he'd won off one of the Polish scientists. Unscrewing the cap, he took a swig and gasped. He took another. The he looked down at the screen.

There was a message there, from Fluffy. "You didn't show?"

Rodney hesitated. He placed the bottle on the table beside the bed and started typing. "I realised that there was something that I needed to ask you. That I should have asked you before we met." He paused, then started again. "I'd just assumed, with your name, that you were..." and he left the rest unsaid, hitting "enter".

After a moment, "Fluffy" typed back, "Oh."

"Oh." Rodney said aloud, typing the same.

"I didn't mean to imply. Anything," Fluffy wrote. Then she sent another message. "It was my sister's pet cat's name."

Rodney smiled slightly. "My fault."

"So, would you still like to meet?"

Rodney read the message twice before he responded, "No." He hit send, and, seeing it come up on the screen, typed, "Yes." When that hit, he typed, "I mean, you'd want, still want to? That'd be all right? Because I was thinking this was sort of a date."

"Yeah," Fluffy wrote. "Yes. I would."

"Oh, okay." Rodney replied.

"Tomorrow, same time, same place?"

"Great," Rodney typed, smiling. "Good. See you then."

It was only when Fluffy logged off that Rodney fully realised what he'd just done. He'd made a date - not just with a man, but with John Sheppard. And as if that weren't bad enough, with the John Sheppard who hated him. Fabulous.

x-x

Rodney peered through the window of the mess hall door. He could see John there, at the same table he'd claimed the night before. John was staring out the window into the rain, the light around him muted to soft blues and greys. Unlike last night, when he'd appeared all cool and composed, John looked ruffled, his hands clasped tightly before him, his hair standing on end.

Rodney took a deep breath, opened the door, and let it shut behind him.

John turned to him and nodded. Rodney could read nothing in his eyes.

Rodney shifted, uncomfortable. "Hey, Fluffy."

John's eyes widened. "Rodney?"

Rodney nodded.

John smiled, small at first, then a huge grin that brightened his face. "May I say that I love your name? 'Rock Hardballs,' indeed. Can I take that to mean..."

Rodney returned the smile. "That I'm a huge fan of Mystery Science Theatre?" Rodney relaxed a bit and took a step toward John's table. "Speaking of movies, you ever seen the film, "The Shop Around the Corner?"

John looked puzzled. "No."

Rodney sat down at the table, his chair right next to John's, their legs brushing. He turned slightly and leaned towards John, closing the space between them until their faces were inches apart. Looking up through his lashes, Rodney raised an eyebrow and said, "Maybe you should."

x-x

_Notes:_

The title, "The Best Laid Plans...", comes from the saying, "The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry," which is a modern-English translation of something in a Robert Burns poem.

"Comme-ci, comme ça," is French. It could be used in response to an informal question like, "Comment ça va/How's it going?" It means, "Eh, not bad. So-so."

Contre crisse - A slangy Quebec French piece of profanity.

Plot synopsis for "Mystery Science Theater 3000", also known as MST3K: A television show and film in which a space traveler and his smart-ass robots watch and crack-wise about really bad movies like "The Brain that Wouldn't Die!" Sort of a cult classic.

Plot synopsis for "Shop Around the Corner": "Matuschek's" is the gift shop around the corner. Among the staff is Alfred Kralik, a likeable young man who's in love with a woman he has never met and whose name he doesn't even know (their "romance" has been conducted through a post office box). When Klara Novak comes to work as a clerk in the shop, the sparks begin to fly: she and Alfred can't stand each other. Of course, what neither knows is that Klara is the woman Alfred has been romancing through the mail!


End file.
